We hope you enjoy it.
The Story:
“She was lonely that day
At her grandparents’ house.
When she wanted to play,
The others told her, “Get lost!”
They weren’t very kind
And said she had rabies.
They hid from her, teasing
That they didn’t play with babies.
They said she was small
And would get in their way,
So she went by herself
Down the road to the lake.
There she bravely stood still
Peering into the green,
Ere she picked up a stick
To poke something unseen.
And the next thing she knew,
She wasn’t alone —
For out of the goo
A creature had shown.
A strange-looking fishy
The color of muck;
On four feet it crept
Up the stick that she stuck.
It was quite a surprise!
It was really a shock,
For she never imagined
That fishes could walk!
So she looked at the creature,
Who looked at her back,
Then she screamed and let go
And ran faster than fast . . .
Up the slope to announce
That she saw a sea monster . . .
A slimy thing pounced
From the depths of the water!
Grampa listened and guessed,
“It must be a mudpuppy.”
The older kids jeered,
It was probably nothing!
“Show us!” they snorted,
So she retraced her tracks
To the edge of the lake,
To the dreadful attack.
And she retrieved her stick
But of course it was bare —
No slimy sea beast,
No mud demon was there.
The laughter was loud
As she waited with sighs
Under dark swirling clouds,
Wistful tears in her eyes.
When they laughed even more,
Which made her face burn,
She stuck in the stick
So her proof could return.
She waited and waited
But never thereafter
Would see a mudpup,
Or a sad salamander . . .
Who was lonely like her,
Who was seeking a friend,
Who was frightened so much
He won’t come out again.
The moral is clear:
Do not venture alone
To a lake or a place
Rather strange and unknown.
For whether a child
Or some kind of a fish,
You could be afraid
To get what you wish!”
